Balto: a life on the edge
by Beyond Books
Summary: Balto and his brother Snow are out casts. Hated by the people of Nome, Alaska and all the dogs within, they live on the edge. One day they fall head over paws for two young huskys, Jenna and Mary, and they will stop at nothing to win their hearts. (P.S., Steele has a brother named beast so in this story they have twice the trouble)
1. Chapter 1

Howls are heard all throughout the forest. They are cries for blood and death. Two animals are running through the trees at top speed, occasionally looking over their shoulders searching for danger. It's a brownish-black male dog and a white female wolf. They are each carrying a pup in their mouth, both are males but one is pure white while the other is brown. "They are getting closer Aniu" said the male dog, his voice slightly muffled because of the pup in his mouth. "I know, I can hear them" Aniu said. She could hear the sound of 6 wolves chasing them, getting closer. "Here, take Lefan and Jorlean and run, I will hold them off" said the male dog, handing the brown pup to Aniu. "No!" ,she yelled stopping, "They will kill you, there are to many Moreland." Moreland sadly shook his head "I know, but I'm only doing this to by you and them some time. Get them to safety, I'm sorry Aleu I couldn't be a better husband and father." Then he was gone.

Aniu stood there, frozen. Then she heard a howl and it jolted her back to reality. She picked up both pups and took off. Since she was a wolf she could hear the fight that was going on, and 30 seconds later she heard a cry of pain then silence. Suddenly there were howls of victory from the wolves and the sound of many feet chasing her. Aniu willed herself to go faster, hot tears streaming down her face as she mourned her loss. She quickly came to the edge of the forest and kept running. In the distance she could see a structure of some kind sticking out of the ground. The closer she got the easier it was to see the object. It was some type of boat, probably a fisher boat that got stranded here after the water that once was here receded . She quickly ran up a plank of wood that was leaning off the boat onto the ground, making a ramp. Aniu slowly put both pups down below decks and kissed both of them on the head. The brown pup ,now know as Lefan, opened his eyes and said "mommy, were is daddy." Trying to hold back tears she said "he's coming dear, just go back to sleep." The pup instantly was out cold. Aniu looked over at Jorlean one last time. The pup hardly ever talked but from what she saw when they play fought, he was an aggressive furball. "He has my looks but his dad's heart." She thought.

Aniu quickly returned above decks and looked into the distance. From the boat she could see the wolves closing in at top speed, but in the other direction Aniu could see a small town of some sort. She would never outrun them because she was tired and hurt from being on the run and fighting. If she ran anymore she would pass out and more than likely be killed by the wolves. But that was a risk she would have to take to save her babies. Aniu jumped over the side of the boat and ran in the direction of the little town in search of a place to hide, even though wolves are banned from human settlements. She ran long and hard, but eventually she begin to get tired and slow down. The wolves were now right behind her and at any second would take her down. Offer 3 more minutes of running one wolf bit her back leg and pulled her to the ground, Aniu tried kicking him off but he had a good grip, soon all the wolves pounced on her and started tearing her apart.

**Nome, Alaska**

It was another find day in Nome, Alaska. The men were at work while the women went shopping and the kids were in school. It was quiet and the sun was shining, nothing could ruin the peace. That was until they heard howls coming from not to far out of town. The men, being to fond of wolf attacks, quickly rushed home and grabbed their guns and ran to meet the threat. 15 men came trudging out of the tiny town towards the wolves and when they got there they weren't surprised at what they saw. Five wolves attacking one wolf mercilessly. They could here the howls of pain that the one wolf was making as the other five wasted no time in killing it. The fifteen men took aim with their guns, and fired. All five wolves dropped dead from multiple shots to the body and the men surged forward. When they reached the wolf they instantly knew that it wouldn't make it. "See, this is why we don't like wolves, they are nothing but savage beasts that kill for fun, next it will be our children they come after" said one man to the others. They all nodded and turned around. "Well send someone out here later to pick up the bodies" ,said another man as they continued walking.

Not to far above the scene a goose was circling slowly to the ground. This goose saw everything that happened, from the moment that the lone wolf was taken down, to the moment the humans left. He floated to a stop in front of the wolf and looked into her dying eyes. "Oh dear, oh no", said the small goose in a thick Russian accent. "Help-my children-in the boat- please help them" ,she said weakly. The goose nodded his head slowly, fighting not to cry. The wolf also nodded, then became very still as her heart finally stopped beating. The goose backed away and started flying to the boat as fast as he could. He flew below decks and found two wolves, but they didn't look like full wolves. They looked part dog also. "Oh that can't be good, their life isn't going to be easy at all." ,the goose said to himself. At the sound of someone talking the brown wolf woke up. "Daddy?" He asked. The goose shook his head and said "no boychik, I'm your parents friend Boris, your parents told me to look after you for a while." The young pup nodded his head slow, then drifted back to sleep. The goose walked up to both of the wolves and look them over. Through further examination, her found out that both wolves were the same age and they both had teeth so they would be able to eat meat rather than drink milk. "Well boys, looks like I'm not returning to Russia after all." He said quietly. Then he laid down next to them and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**the next day**

Boris felt something warm, fuzzy, and small squirming next to him as he slowly pulls himself into consciousness. He looks over to find himself rapped around two small pups. One is Brown and the other is white. The brown one is kicking in his sleep and making whimpering noises. Boris is temporarily confused but then all the memories of yesterday's encounter with the dying wolf come flooding back to him and a single tear slides down his face. He refocused his attention on the small brown wolf-dog as it continued to kick and whimper. Boris nudged the pup with his beak, but it still didn't wake up. He continued to nudge the small wolf-dog until finally he woke up. The pup stared at Boris for a second before tapping his brother on the head till he woke up. The white pup slowly opened his eyes and looked around until his eyes finally landed on Boris, the he jumped to his feet and got into a fighting stance.

Boris put both wings in front of himself and said, "hold on,I'm not your enemy, my name is Boris and I am here to look after you while your parents are gone." "What do you mean that our parents are gone", asked the brown pup. Boris slowly lowered his wings and said "your parents will be gone for a while so they asked me to watch over you for a until they get back." Boris didn't tell the pups that there parents were dead in fear that they wouldn't take it to well. For now he would make them believe that they were coming back until they were old enough to handle the news. "So, can you tell me your names?" asked Boris. "My name is Lefan and this is my brother Jorlean, he doesn't talk much." said Lefan. Boris nodded his head and was about to say something until he was interrupted by a growl of some sort. "Um, Boris ,said Lefan, my brother and I are hungry." "Okay, okay I got this I'll just go get you both some meat." said Boris. "Stay here, I'll be back faster than a tail feather shake."Then he was gone.

After about 30 minutes of hunger the brothers hearted a thump for the deck. The climbed the stairs and peeked over the edge to find Boris laid out on the floor gasping for air with a bucket in his flippers. Boris kicked the bucket towards the pups and out spilled meat. The wolves happily pounced on the delicious treat and began digging in, filling themselves up till they could barely walk. "Where did you get all this meat Boris" asked Lefan. Boris motioned the boys to the edge of the boat. "You see that in the distance" Boris said, pointing with his wing. The pups both nodded, hardly able to see what Boris was talking about. "That is a town, a place where humans live" said Boris. The wolf-dogs instantly got excited. "When do we get to go" asked Lefan. Boris shot him a look and said, "never, that town is full of dogs and people who would shoot you without a second thought." "Why" asked Lefan clearly confused. "Because you two are wolves and they don't like wolves. "Oh, okay" Lefan said with his head down.

"Now, what do you guys like to do for fun" asked Boris. The brothers looked at each other with smiles on their faces and out of no where pounced on Boris and began to wrestle with him.

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

After a few hours of ruff housing, the pups were ready to hit the hay (or deck) and get some sleep. They curled up in the corner together to keep warm because the night were so cold in Alaska. Boris watched them slowly drift into the world of dream, and when he was sure they were sleep he went into another corner and did the same. But one pup wasn't as asleep as he looked. Jorlean eyes popped open and he looked around, seeing if his brother or Boris were awake. He slowly stood up and started tip-toeing to the stairs. Half way there the floor boards started creaking, instantly waking up Lefan. "What are you doing Jorlean.", asked Lefan. "I'm going to the town and see what's there, it sounds intriguing." ,said Jorlean. "But Boris said-", but Lefan was cut off. "I know what Boris said and I can't get killed if I don't get caught" ,said Jorlean already walking up the stairs, "So are you coming or not" Lefan thought about it for a second, the he quickly chased after his brother. "What about Boris" Lefan asked. "What Boris doesn't know won't kill him" said Jorlean.

They walked down the plank/ramp onto the snow covered ground and briskly walked to the near by town. It took them 20 minutes to walk the half mile between the boat and the town. Finally they arrived and snuck to the shadows of the nearest house. It was only 7:00 (but they didn't know because they can't tell time) so people and dogs were still out and about. Jorlean and Lefan stayed in the shadows as they darted back and forth between houses. They took everything the saw in and memorized it so that they wouldn't get lost if they needed to make a quick escape. Silently walking through the alleys they came to a gate. "What do we do now" asked Lefan. Jorlean looked around and saw some crates stacked in a kind of pyramid way that made a staircase. "This way" he said, and bounded up the crates and over the gate.

Lefan quickly followed but tripped over the gate and landed on some trash cans, making a loud sound. It was quiet for a moment then they saw two dogs come into the ally. They were both black with white bellies and paws and couldn't be no older than a few months. "What do we have here" said one. "A couple of strays" said the other. The first one came closer and sniffed the air. Then he stated growling. "Whats the matter with u Steele" said the second one. "Sniff them and you'll see Beast" the other dog, now know as Steele, said. The other dog, now knows as Beast, sniffed them also and said "you two are wolves, but not full wolves, half wolf half dog. You two are half breeds.

They growled some more and took a few steps closer. "Don't move ok another step" said Jorlean suddenly. "Or what" said Beast. Then out of nowhere Jorlean attacked, giving Beast a nice deep slash across his left cheek. Beast howled and slammed into his brother. They both fell to the ground and Lefan and Jorlean took of running. They ran down the middle of the streets while people and dogs alike were screaming "wolves!" They kept running down the main street all the way out of town and kept going. They ran up the ramp and tumbled down the stairs, scaring the feathers off of Boris. "What's going on here, where did you to boys go." The pups just sat there and stared at him. Realization dawned on Boris face. "No, you didn't, no" Boris said, anger could be seen plainly on his face. "Get over into that corner and go to bed, well talk about this in the morning" was all he said before going back to sleep. The boys slowly walked to the corner and laid down. "I want mommy and daddy" said Lefan. Jorlean just nodded his head and went to sleep. Lefan followed soon after.


	3. Chapter 3

**2 years later**

"LEFAN AND JORLEAN SLOW DOWN!" screamed Boris at the top of his lungs. The two wolf-dogs were racing through the snow towards town. "Aw come on Boris, don't you want to say hi to our new neighbors?" said Lefan. Earlier today a small group of humans moved into town and the two brothers wanted to see them. "I thought we were getting food?!" Said Boris. "We can do that afterwards." Was his response. Jorlean didn't say a word to Boris at all. He hadn't since Boris landed the news that their parents were dead.

_flashback: 1 1/2 years ago._

_The two brothers were sulking around the boat with nothing to do. Then Boris flew onto the boat and landed in between the wolves. "Boris were is mommy and daddy?" Asked Lefan. Boris instantly looked away. "They should be coming back soon" he said without making eye contact. "Why do you keep looking away every time we bring up mom and dad" asked Jorlean with a suspicious look on his face. " is something wrong with mommy and daddy, are they hurt, when will they be here, is it soon, how soon? Lefan bombarded Boris with all these questions until Boris gave a defeated sigh._

_"Okay boychiks, I'm gonna tell u the truth" Boris said. " but in my defense I only did it to you to keep you from getting hurt." Boris took a deep breath and continued. "Boys, your parents are dead and I lied about them coming back because I was afraid at what you might do" He said. The two wolves looked at him with disbelief and anger. The anger mostly competing from Jorlean. Suddenly Lefan burst into tears but Jorlean just sat there and looked at Boris. From that day forth Jorlean never talked again._

_End of flashback_

Now the two boys are all grown up. Lefan still his brown fur color, but he built up his muscle so he was in great shape. Jorlean was still white but when he turned 1 years old (or seven in dog years) he came across some red paint. Now with mixing the red paint with tree sap and some help from Boris, Jorlean spikes up a straight line from the top of his head, down the middle of his back to where his tail begins so that he has a red Mohawk. He has a similar build to Lefan, but Jorlean was always bigger than Lefan so he had muscles and size making him almost twice the size of lefan. Lefan tried to make his own Mohawk, but it just came out a clumpy, gooey mess.

They continued forward and eventually made it to town. Lefan and Jorlean new every part of the small settlement. The new every building, street, and alley. But what was the best feat of all was that they didn't use streets or alleys, they used the roof tops of the buildings to get where they needed to go. The second house to the right had a pile of crates and boxes that allowed the two half-breeds to reach the roof. Then all they had to do was hop to the next building, and so on. They learned this from a local stray cat named Missy. She was their teacher for 4 months until they mastered the art of agility and cat like reflexes. Now they could flip, run along gates, and fly through open windows without fear.

The two brothers slipped off into the shadows of the houses and made their way to the crates. Once there, they climbed on top of the roofs silently. Fast but carefully then ran across the roof tops till they reached their designated house. Down below was a family was climbing out of a dog sled. There was 3 humans, a male and two females. The smallest one couldn't be no older than 5 years. But what really caught the two brothers attention was who came out next. Stepping out of the sled were the two most beautiful huskies they have ever seen. Both were red with cream underbellies, faces, and paws. "Jenna and Mary, come on girls" said the male human. The two pretty huskies followed close behind, with Lefan and Jorlean watching closely, until they went into the house.

Then Boris walked over to the boys and said "did you like what you saw" with a knowing grin on his face. The brothers nodded their heads slowly, still thinking about the two girls. "Come on boychiks, let's go home" Boris said, taking flight. Jorlean stood up but slipped on a patch of ice and started sliding off the roof. He tried to grab something but it was all ice and he ended up falling off the roof onto the snowy ground below. Lefan jumped off the roof to and helped his brother up. They were about to leave when they heard "well what do we have here" from behind them. "A couple of gay faggets that continually come into our town even though they aren't welcome"

It was none other than Steele and Beast, Lefan and Jorleans worse enemies. "Faggets?" Jorlean said laughing. "That's not what your mom said, but then again she couldn't say anything with my dick in her mouth." "What?!" Said Steele lunging for Jorlean. Steele was always a hot head, he could never keep his cool so he lashed out without thinking. In their dozens of fights, Jorlean has always managed to win by making Steele so angry he couldn't think straight. That tactic still hasn't change in the past year and a half. Jorlean just easily side stepped the attack and punched Steele dead in the face.

The momentum of Steele coming to the first and Jorleans strength caused Steele to be knocked back into his brother, giving Lefan and Jorlean enough time to escape. They raced out of town and through the snow until they reached the boat. They climbed inside where Boris was and told him about the incident. Boris just shook his head and mumbled something about trouble minded dogs. "Well" said Boris. "What we gonna do now." Suddenly a voice came from outside saying "Uncle Booorrriiisss"


	4. thanks everyone

Hey everyone, I just wanted to thank y'all for your word of encouragement and your tips to make my book better. I know you guys are confused about the names, but have you ever noticed that somehow a wolf who doesn't speak English and has no collar on has a name Balto and the humans know it. So I decided to make Rosey give Lefan and Jorlean their names so it would makes sense. Thanks again y'all and I hope this clears things up


End file.
